Kudos to Bitter who came up with the right answer. It's the Hollywood double standard once again, in that a convicted felon is allowed to handle a gun with no uproar from the antis. The ATF has the power to determine that he's no longer a threat to society and give Mr. Wahlberg his gun rights back, but the anti-gun lobby and members of Congress removed ATF funding for that function.

In an op-ed penned for the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard, Matthew Dennis argues that there is no First Amendment freedom of expression. He also argues that there is no Fourth Amendment, Ninth Amendment, or Tenth Amendment protections. Of course he doesn't explicitly say that we don't have protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Instead he argues that "the people" in the Second Amendment really means "the government". And that any attempt to argue otherwise disparages history and the Constitution.

...however such [gun rights] questions are resolved, we should not slaughter early American history - or assault constitutional principles - in the process. Gun advocates will need to make their case on its contemporary merits, because in fact the Constitution, specifically the Second Amendment, gives them no ammunition. An individual "right" to own firearms simply does not exist. [...]

To clarify, we need a refresher course in early American history, etymology, and perhaps grammar 101. The Second Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1791 along with nine others, is a charter member of the Bill of Rights. It reads, "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Why the ungainly opening clause? In the awkwardness of the sentence, there is purpose. It begins with the premise that explains the meaning and reason for the necessity of a "well-regulated militia" to ensure national security. It refers to "the State," not to individuals, and it expects security to be achieved not through individual action, but rather through militias that are "well-regulated," composed and subject to regulation by the state. [...]

Having established its reason for being, the Second Amendment stipulates "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms." Why not say "persons" or "a person," as in other amendments, or why not be specific by specifying "a citizen"?

Why does the First Amendment specifically enumerate "the right of the people peaceably to assemble". Clearly this refers to the right of federal, state, and local governments to assemble. And why protect freedom of "the press", an inanimate object used to print newspapers?

Dennis clearly flunked History as well as Grammar 101. What's more he apparently can't even read. If he could, he'd see that FIVE of the ten Constitutional Amendments that make up the Bill of Rights mention protecting the rights of "the people". (Including the Top Two)

Of course the Second Amendment applies to individuals. All the Amendments apply to individuals. That's the whole concept of a "Bill of Rights". Furthermore the Founding Fathers were more worried about standing armies than they were armed citizens.

Dennis adds:

The framers and initial amenders of the Constitution never discussed or ever imagined that they were enabling individual gun ownership.

Oh no?

"The great object is, that every man be armed ... Every one who is able may have a gun." -- Patrick Henry

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." -- Alexander Hamilton

" ... to disarm the people - that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -- George Mason

"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms." -- Thomas Jefferson

"No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson

"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." -- George Washington

"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American." -- Tench Coxe, of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.

...just to name a few. But what do I know. I clearly don't have the grasp on history that Mr. Dennis has.

This would be funny if it weren't so sad:

Life Imitates 'The Simpsons'
From "Whacking Day," an episode of "The Simpsons," which first aired April 29, 1993:

Principal Skinner: So, what's the word down at One School Board Plaza?

Superintendent Chalmers: We're dropping the geography requirement. The children weren't testing well. It's proving to be an embarrassment.

Skinner: Very good. Back to the three R's.

Chalmers: Two R's, come October.

From the Seattle Times, March 26, 2007:

State lawmakers appear on the verge of dumping the math and science sections of the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), and replacing them with a very different kind of test.

The idea is to do something about the fact that so few students pass the math and science sections.

Roanoke Times editorialist Christian Trejbal, who recently compared concealed handgun permit holders to sex offenders, proves he's just a transplanted liberal who hates living in the very much "red-state" Southwest Virginia. This week his beef is with Virginian's sense of individuality.

I will admit that Virginia has more vanity plates than any other state I've seen. They are fairly cheap, easy to get, and provide a good source of revenue for the state. However in his latest editorial Trejbal admits he's not pro-choice. In fact, when someone has a license plate or bumper sticker he disagrees with he apparently begins driving like an asshole.

When I see a car plastered with stickers promoting candidates or views with which I disagree, I treat them just like the gas-guzzling, road-hogging sport utility vehicles I find equally morally bankrupt: I don't yield to them.

When someone throws on a turn signal indicating he wants to break into traffic, in most circumstances there is no obligation to give way. If a vehicle sports one of those ironically misguided fish-eating-the-fish-with-feet, forget it. If it has the "Coexist" sticker with all those different religious symbols for letters, well, then I'll make some room.

I assume people of all political persuasions follow similar driving maxims, even if subconsciously. One of the reasons to wear politics and religion on the sleeve -- or in this case the bumper -- is to evoke a reaction. Perhaps if enough motorists refused to yield to SUVs, their owners might reconsider their automotive choice.

How elitist can one guy be? Notice that in typical liberal fashion he projects his own shortcomings onto others, assuming everyone else is as pathetic as he is.

Personally, I yield to Democrats and Republicans alike. If someone has their turn signal on, I yield to them. If they don't, I don't. Traffic is bad enough without liberal assholes making our streets more dangerous.

Isn't it ironic that Trejbal supports the premise of those annoying "coexist" bumper stickers, when he himself refuses to yield to those with conflicting viewpoints.

Bullying other drivers to make a political point is not only petty, it's dangerous and stupid. Maybe Trejbal's insurance company should speak to him about that.

I haven't played World of Warcraft, or for that matter any other Blizzard game since Diablo II. Aside from not really having time to play games anymore, I don't like the way Blizzard manages their online universe.

In WoW, it seems, Blizzard has been locking players out for "power leveling". That is the practice of using hacks and cheats to advance in the game very quickly. The practice would let you start at level 10 or 20, instead of painstakingly working your way up there through hours of game play.

Blizzard has long been known for cracking down on online cheats. Years ago when I played Diablo and Diablo II, the same cheats were available. Through hacks and cheats you could give yourself the best armor, the best spells, and level yourself up to where you don't get killed and have to repeatedly start over. Yeah it's cheating, but without any weapons or spells your hamstrung with a club and a robe trying to beat skeletons to death for a few hours.

I figured as long as you weren't killing or tormenting other players, or ruining anyone elses gaming experience why should Blizzard care? But they do care. Blizzard wants you to play the game their way. And if you don't, they don't want you to play at all.

Imagine if Parker Brothers banned you from playing Monopoly because you put $500 on Free Parking. Altering or coming up with "house rules" is common for board games. But for some reason when you play online, gaming companies don't want you to amend their rules. They want you to spend a month working your way through the game instead of solving it in an afternoon.

Well I don't have a month, and I don't have time for Blizzard. Bottom line is that it's just a game. And as long as someone isn't ruining someone elses gaming experience, they need to let them play. So what if they start at level 20 instead of level 1?

Why is this news?

Gates backs immigration reform on Mexico trip

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, the world's richest man, said on Tuesday the United States should reform its immigration laws and give more flexibility to higher-skilled foreign workers.

This looks like a great idea for a TV reality show:

Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto has selected the first four of eight Native Hawaiian families that will each rent one of his multimillion-dollar homes in the exclusive oceanside Kahala area for $150 a month.

The low-income families could move into the furnished Kahala Avenue homes, purchased in 2005 for $2 million to $3.4 million each, as soon as this weekend.

"They will be living in heaven now," said Kawamoto, a 75-year-old real estate tycoon.

I would bet dollars to donuts that Kawamoto ends up with ramshackled houses at the end of all this. Apparently it happened before when he did this, but he blamed the property manager.

At best, this is a poor use of resources. Kawamoto has spent millions to help EIGHT low-income families. With that kind of cash he could have purchased modest homes and helped many more. Better yet, give that money to local shelters and charities to use effectively and help hundreds of families instead of just a few.

Mega-media conglomerate Viacom is suing Youtube for $1 Billion for copyright infringement.

By the time Viacom filed its $1 billion lawsuit, BayTSP had amassed more than 160,000 unauthorized videos, snippets from "South Park," "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and other popular shows owned by MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other Viacom networks. YouTube says it took all those videos down.

It's hard to feel sorry for Viacom, considering this:

On Comedy Central's Web site, users watching a video like this episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart can click a button that renders code they can simply copy and paste to embed the video on a MySpace.com page or other Web site.

According to some so-called animal rights activists, bear cubs like knut are better off dead.

"Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.

"The zoo must kill the bear."

Of course this is not the first time animal groups have advocated the slaughter of animals.

A few California Democrats found out what happens when you don't toe the line.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata flashed a show of power Monday by locking three moderate Democratic senators out of their offices after they attended a fundraiser last week.

The Oakland Democrat apparently was irked that the three Southern California lawmakers, Sens. Ron Calderon, Gloria Negrete-McLeod and Lou Correa, attended a dinner in Sacramento held by pro-business Assembly Democrats who call themselves the ''Mod Squad.''

Senate Democrats have an unwritten rule forbidding members from joining caucuses except those reflecting gender, geography or ethnicity -- such as the Latino or rural caucuses -- mostly as a way to keep lawmakers from forming voting blocs that could hinder the party's agenda.

Despite a 30-year complete and total ban on handguns, D.C. leads the nation in handgun crime. So when a three judge panel from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down D.C.'s gun ban as unConstitutional, it was inevitable that the blood in the streets editorials would soon follow. But even I found it hard to believe that the Georgetown Voice could actually say this with a straight face:

Last Friday, in a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Court of Appeals took a step in the wrong direction, overturning the District’s 30 year-old handgun ban. In opposing the ban, the court undermined the District’s legislative authority and the safety of the District’s residents. Mayor Fenty has rightly pledged to appeal the decision, an effort which must continue so that D.C. can keep benefiting from the security of the gun ban.

And of course the liberal editorialists at the Washington Post are just beside themselves. Courtland Milloy doesn't trust himself or anyone with a handgun, and D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says we need to ban guns for the children.

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays, and not just because I'm Irish and I like to booze it up. In the days of pleasure police and political correctness, having a drinking holiday around is a refreshing reminder of the finer things in life.

I encourage everyone to live by The General's motto.

Live the good life. Drink, smoke, gamble, feast, joke, fornicate and be tolerant of those who do. Take risks and thrive for the good challenge. Work hard and play hard without going over the edge. Live in the moment. Believe in moderation in all things, including moderation. Live it up!

Life is finite. You might as well enjoy it while you can. Drive an SUV, smoke if you want to, drink, fornicate. Do what you want, as long as you don't deprive anyone else in their pursuit of the same.

Live free or die, brother. Live free or die.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

One week after I put out a recruiting call for new members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy:

Clinton: Right-Wing Conspiracy Is Back

Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton told Democrats Tuesday the "vast, right-wing conspiracy" is back, using a phrase she once coined to describe partisan criticism.

We've got them quaking in their boots. Join now.

I've come to realize that the vast wealth and riches that the Empire de Ravenwood has accumulated may allow me to hire a bi-weekly maid service. I haven't decided ya or nay yet, but am fielding offers from several different bonded and insured maid services.

But I'm worried about how to best prepare. I know it sounds stupid, but it seems that you actually have to clean up before the maid service comes. I need to find a home for all the homeless clutter that has accumulated on my dresser, night stand, and various end tables. Also, what do I do about the half dozen guns that are strategically placed around my house. My first thought is to put them away under lock and key. But my bedside gun and under-the-bed attitude adjuster are permanent fixtures. What to do, what to do?

Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Christian Trejbal, editorial writer for the Roanoke Times who has an unlisted address, has decided to publish the entire list of Virginians with a Concealed Handgun Permit. He justifies the decision by comparing people who have voluntarily gone through training, fingerprinting, and a background check, to registered sex offenders.

A state that eagerly puts sex offender data online complete with an interactive map could easily do the same with gun permits...

Through a FOIA request, he obtained the master list from the State Police and published it online.

As a Sunshine Week gift, The Roanoke Times has placed the entire database, mistakes and all, online at www.roanoke.com/gunpermits. You can search to find out if neighbors, carpool partners, elected officials or anyone else has permission to carry a gun.

He assumes that people would not want to carpool or live next door to someone who has voluntarily gone through training, fingerprinting, and a background check. They're so blinded by their liberal worldview they couldn't even conceive of not wanting to live next door to someone who couldn't get a Concealed Handgun Permit.

But then to the liberal media, anyone who carries a handgun is someone to be feared.

Local celebrities generally don't carry, but at least a half dozen elected officials do. I'll leave it to readers to figure out which ones so you can avoid annoying them at meetings.

I tried checking the list, but it appears to have been taken offline. Either their web server is getting hammered, or they got cold feet.

UPDATE: Per the Roanoke Times comment section:

Christian J Trejbal
675 School Lane
Christiansburg, VA 24073

Not sure if it's accurate or not. Whitepages has him listed on Westside Blvd in Roanoke.

The total gun ban which has made Washington D.C. safe for the past 30 years has been overturned by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Apparently a couple of the justices finally bothered to read the Second Amendment to figure out what "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" means.

The court ruled that "the bar on carrying a pistol within the home, amounts to a complete prohibition on the lawful use of handguns for self-defense. As such, we hold it unconstitutional."

The decision offers some leniency for restrictions on gun ownership, noting that "this is not to suggest that the government is absolutely barred from regulating the use and ownership of pistols. The protections of the Second Amendment are subject to the same sort of reasonable restrictions that have been recognized as limiting, for instance, the First Amendment."

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership was swift to condemn the ruling, calling it "judicial activism" and thwarting the "will of the people".

"By disregarding nearly seventy years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, two Federal judges have negated the democratically-expressed will of the people of the District of Columbia and deprived this community of a gun law it enacted thirty years ago and still strongly supports," [Paul] Helmke said.

Of course slavery and racial segregation were also "the will of the people".

The first two months of 2007 are gone and I just realized that we completely missed our recruiting goals for 2006. Between creating hurricanes, wrecking the economy, and causing global warming we've just been too busy to recruit new members. So here is your chance.

If you want your very own VRWC membership card, send an email to vrwc -at- ravnwood -dot- com. Include a jpg or gif photo of yourself, preferrably one that's cropped and somewhat proportionally square. Also make sure it's big enough. I can size it down if need be, but not up. If you have a URL to link to, include that as well.

(You have to make your own foil-hat.)

Please be aware that delivery time for your card is inversely versely proportional to the number of requests received.

Reader Mike sends news that Global Warming might not be caused by man after all: Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says. But it's hilariously treated with kid gloves by the media. First paragraph:

Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural - and not a human- induced - cause, according to one scientist's controversial theory.

Heh. So one scientist has a controversial theory that the source of all our power (the sun) might be responsible for warming the Earf. Let the stoning begin:

[Habibullo] Abdussamatov's work, however, has not been well received by other climate scientists.

"His views are completely at odds with the mainstream scientific opinion," said Colin Wilson, a planetary physicist at England's Oxford University.

"And they contradict the extensive evidence presented in the most recent IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report."

How dare he question mainstream scientific opinion. If a majority of people agree that the sun revolves around the earth, it must be true.

Neo-temperance is inevitable and it's coming to Virginia. Since the Virginia Legislature won't force businesses to throw smokers out into the streets, the city of Alexandria will use zoning laws to do so. Virginia has a Dillon Rule meaning they cannot pass laws more restrictive than state law. But they do control zoning, and smoking is about to become a criteria for zoning permits. (More evidence that this is about property rights rather than smoking.)

"This is something we all wanted," said Mayor William D. Euille (D). "It would be nice if the state would mandate and make it happen. But obviously they're passing the buck on this . . . so we need to move forward to do what we need to do, and we found the loophole to do it."

Euille said the city's proposal was a result of "creative, outside-the-box" thinking.

Alexandria would seize control of the smoking issue with such mundane tools as use permits. When a bar or restaurant came to the city to request a permit, the city would require it to be smoke-free before granting the permit. Restaurants that have permits must agree to go smoke-free in three months or risk future restrictions or even closure.

Virginia did pass an asinine law that requires businesses that allow smoking to post a huge sign saying so. The theory is that restaurants will ban smoking rather than post a sign and risk losing business now that customers know beforehand that smoking is permitted. (Us non-smokers are apparently too stupid to figure it out without a big sign.)

I had thought that people were generally pro-choice. But for some reason, when it comes to smoking there is no choice. If you want to enjoy a cigarette or cigar after a nice expensive meal, too bad. Smokers don't have any rights, and neither do business owners who want to tap that market.

As we slide down the slippery slope, future smoke bans will include cars (where children are present), private homes (where children and/or employees may be present), and eventually outdoors (where smoke is free to roam where anyone might be present).

So why should a non-smoker care what happens to smokers and their stinky habit? Well, here is just a sampling of my reasons:

This is my body. There are many like it, but this one is mine. And any sort of nagging bullshit about what I can and can't put into it is wrong. This week it's smoking, next week it'll be drinking and fast food. These whiny little piss-ants aren't man enough to walk up and tell you to your face, instead they use the police power of the government to try to run your life. If you think I shouldn't have that extra roll, why don't you come over and try taking it off my plate? I'd like to see you try.

It's all about freedom of choice. People have a wide selection of smoking and non-smoking restaurants from which to choose. But that's not good enough for some people. They want all restaurants to be non-smoking, just in case they some day might want to eat there. Never mind what the property owner wants, his rights don't count.

Temperance leads to crime which leads to death. In New York City where a single packet of cigarettes cost $7, gangs are killing each other over the selling of buttlegged cigarettes. It's big business on the street, and fights can break out over selling on the wrong street corner or at the wrong price. Teenagers just trying to make a buck have been gun downed for undercutting the prices of the local street thugs.

Temperance leads to crime which leads to bigger government. Many of today's gun laws can trace their roots right back to the temperance movement. Prohibition of alcohol lead directly to the National Firearms Act of 1934, and the horrible RICO statutes wherein nearly anything can be prosecuted as a conspiracy to commit organized crime. Then there's the whole Drug Enforcement Administration which was stood up 30 years ago to arrest people for violating the various temperance laws. Currently the DEA has offices across the globe and costs Billions (with a B) of dollars to maintain.

Temperance leads to crime which leads to terrorism. With a huge profit motive and all these dollars flowing around, much of the money eventually finds it's way into the hands of terrorists. You may think that buying bootlegged smokes is a victimless crime and that you're only sticking it to the government, but you may be inadvertently funding the next terror attack. Terrorists need money to do what they do, and they aren't above using our own temperance laws against us.

Over-regulation leads to under-regulation. When prohibition of alcohol took affect, your average Joe didn't think twice about civil disobedience. Speak-easies popped up and alcohol was available for anyone with the money to buy it. The price went up, the quality went down, and any of the laws that controlled product quality or safety were moot.

As neo-temperance takes hold people will gradually start to ignore anti-smoking laws. That is, when cigarettes are outlawed only outlaws will have cigarettes. When that happens, the government will be powerless to control what goes into cigarettes. They could become more harmful, even deadly depending on how cheaply they're produced. Laws governing the nicotine, tar, and carcinogens produced from tobacco will be worthless.

And what about the children? There will be no way to limit access to cigarettes. All those age-limits that anti-smokers pushed through a few years back will be negated once cigarettes are sold in mass quantities on the streets. By over-regulating the product, they'll actually increase it's availability to minors. The only thing between a child and a cigarette will be the conscience of the dealer.

Pleasure Police
Comments (1)   Trackback (0)   top   link me

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm - so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions." -- Conservative commentator Ann Coulter

Of course the democrat shock and awe response is pretty over the top. John Edwards himself was so upset by the remarks that he could only be consoled by money.

Edwards' campaign posted the video on their Web site [to make sure everyone sees it], and asked readers to help them "raise $100,000 in 'Coulter Cash' this week to keep this campaign charging ahead and fight back against the politics of bigotry."

Faggot seems to be the n-word for gays. Its okay if they use it, but straight people aren't allowed to use it. Case in point, the recently defunct gayblogger: Faggoty-ass Faggot.

UPDATE: Heh. Ann Coulter clarified her remarks:

"C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."

I bet it was her time of the month:

A woman who told authorities she was fed up with tailgaters pulled out a gun and shot at the tires of a pickup that got too close, police said. Officials believe the bullet missed the pickup, and no one was hurt."She said she was tired of people tailgating her," Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said.

Headd, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm from a vehicle and use of a firearm during a felony.

Via Bitch Girls.

Seattle school children are being taught about how wonderful Communism is:

A [lego] ban was initiated at the Hilltop Children's Center in Seattle. According to an article in the winter 2006-07 issue of "Rethinking Schools" magazine, the teachers at the private school wanted their students to learn that private property ownership is evil.

According to the article, the students had been building an elaborate "Legotown," but it was accidentally demolished. The teachers decided its destruction was an opportunity to explore "the inequities of private ownership." According to the teachers, "Our intention was to promote a contrasting set of values: collectivity, collaboration, resource-sharing, and full democratic participation."

The children were allegedly incorporating into Legotown "their assumptions about ownership and the social power it conveys." These assumptions "mirrored those of a class-based, capitalist society -- a society that we teachers believe to be unjust and oppressive."

They claimed as their role shaping the children's "social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity ... from a perspective of social justice."

It gets worse:

At the end of that time, Legos returned to the classroom after the children agreed to several guiding principles framed by the teachers, including that "All structures are public structures" and "All structures will be standard sizes." The teachers quote the children:

"A house is good because it is a community house."

"We should have equal houses. They should be standard sizes."

"It's important to have the same amount of power as other people over your building."

Next week's lesson is building a big lego wall to keep the students from escaping.

For awhile I didn't have any phone service at all. Except from my family I rarely get calls at home and local phone service was costing me upwards of $50 a month. Sure the local telco advertised $29.99, but taxes and bullshit regulatory charges were easily another $20.

So, I cut it off for a few years. Then a little over a year ago I got Vonage. They advertised $14.99 a month for limited service. The 500 minutes a month would be more than enough for my use. (I typically use anywhere between 15 and 100 minutes a month.)

But lately the bill has been creeping higher and higher. The past two months it's been $19.49, meaning 23% of my bill is taxes. Regulatory Recovery Fee: 99 cents; Emergency 911 Cost Recovery Fee: 99 cents; Federal Universal Service Fee: 92 cents; State Communications Service Tax: 85 cents; and a State 911 Fee: 75 cents.

That's $4.50 (including TWO 911 fees) on a $14.99 phone bill. An effective tax rate of over 30%. Maybe it's time to get rid of my phone again, or switch to one of the discount VoIP services.